luis

1d-2c Sequences I do play 1d-2c as GF, you should have this sequence discussed with your pd. I play after 1d-2c 2d = 5+ diammonds and does not deny a 4 card major. So all hands with 5+ diammonds rebid 2d after 2c. 2h/2s = 4 card suits with 4 or 3 diammonds. 2N = Exactly 3343 3c = 3244 or 2344

Alternative line: cash 3 clubs and then play spades. If spades break we are home. If spades are 5-1 then: QJ3 A52 62 - - Q7 AK93 32 If west had 5 spades play for the double squeeze (east should have 5 diammonds) and nobody can guard hearts. Spade (disc a d) spade (disc the hQ), diammond to hand, club (disc a h), dK, club 3 A5 - - - 7 9 3 In the 5th club west must keep the 5th spade so we discard the s3 and east is squeezed in diammonds and hearts. Very nice. Back to base: QJ3 A52 62 - - Q7 AK93 32 If EAST had 5 spades then assuming west has 5 diammonds prospects aren't good. Play the bluff :-) combined with the chance of east having 5 diammonds.

Spade. Hearts are the "obvious" switch so If pd wants me to play a heart he should have played a low discouraging spade. Pd should have Jxx of diammonds and now declarer is down if he has to ruff a spade with the dQ, if I play anything else declarer draws trumps and claims on the clubs....

AQJ32 A52 62 Q56 K4 Q7 AK93 AK832 My analysis is as follows: I think that ruffing a diammond is inferior to playing on spades + sqz chances, diammonds 5-2 and the hand with 2 diammonds holding 4 trumps should be similar to spades 5-1 (numbers?). I think that if spades are 5-1 diammonds would be 5-2 and a sqz may fail. So I think against good opponents I'd have played a bluff. Draw 4 rounds of trumps discarding 1 heart, play hQ and overtake with the hA, then two diammonds and the spades reaching: J3 5 - - - 7 9 2 Now sJ discarding the diammond and then ruff a spade and claim with the h7 :-) I know I know there're SQZ chances ruined by my stupid line but I have the strong feeling it would have worked well at the table.

Diammond, The bidding demmands a very agressive lead, after all declarer has a solid 8 card suit and dummy has 15+. Dummy might have KQJx, xx, AJxx, AKx for example and declarer x, AKQxxxxx, xx, xxx imagine a spade lead!. A club can also work but can also be a disaster if dummy has AQJt of clubs and declarer is void. Or AQJx of clubs and declarer has a singleton. A spade can work but: a) Declarer can guess right anyway (he knows I know the sK is in dummy or pds hand) B) I don't want to lead a low spade and find dummy with KQJx of spades. Declarer draw trumps and claims discarding his losing diammond in the sJ.

Hi, I'm a Moscito player form Buenos Aires, Argentina. I play a version based on German-Moscito very similar to other Moscito structures. I know Richard from okb but I'm not playing there anymore (I use BBO now) If anybody is interested the version I play uses (adjusted to match several regulations): 1c: 15+ any 1d: 10-14 denies 4h/4s, any 1h: 4+h denies 4s 10-14 1s: 10-14 unbalanced 4+s denies 4h 1N: 10-14 balanced with 4/5 spades 2c: 10-14 5+/4+ in the majors 2d: 10-14 three suited hand with 4/5 clubs 2h: Weak 2 in hearts (0+) or 10-14 three suited with short clubs, so always 4+h 2s: Weak 2 in spades (0+) 2N: 8-11 at least 5/4 in the minors 3c: Weak 5+c, 5+other 3d: Weak 5+d 5+h/s 3h: Weak 5+h 5+s 3s: Gambling 3N: Weal 5+c 5+d 4x: Preempts We use relays over all the openings, Rubensohl in many (most) situations and many artificial jumps and support bids.

My votes: 1. P-(2S)-X-(P)-2N Lebensohl or Rubensohl 2. P-(2S)-P-(P)-2N Minors 3. P-(2S)-P-(P)-X-(P)-2N Lebensohl or Rubensohl 4. 1N-(P)-2C-(2H)-P-(P)-2N Natural invitational bid 5. 1N-(P)-P-(2S)-P-(P)-2N Pick a minor. 6. 1N-(P)-2C-(P)-2H-(2S)-2N Natural invitational values. 7. P-(1H)-P-(2H)-P-(P)-2N Natural, double heart stopper and 13/15, denies 3 spades. 8. P-(1S)-P-(2S)-2N Minors 9. (1S)-P-(2C)-2N 2C = game force Herts and diammonds 10. (1C)-P-(1S)-X-(2S)-2N Natural invitational to game 11. (1S)-P-(2S)-X-(P)-2N Competitive bid in hearts (3h would have been weakish) 12. P-(1S)-P-(2S)-X-(P)-2N Competitive bid in hearts (3h would have been weakish)

[MODIFIED TO MAKE IT CLEAR] I like to share the following structure as an alternative to J2N + Bergen: 1M opening: 1M-2N 2N = Inv with some splinter, declarer now bids: 4M = game 3c/3d = If your singleton is that minor then we should not play game. 3M = If your singleton is the other major then we should not play game. 1M-3c 3c = forcing game with 4+ support (the agree with your pd the subsequent bids) 1M-3d 3d = Inv without a singleton and 4 card support. 1M-3M 3M = barrage 1M-3OM/4m 3OM = Void. Inv+ values. 4m = Void. Inv+ values. 3N = 5 trumps, 1 defensive trick. Preemptive. 4M = 5 trumps, 0 defensive tricks. Preemptive. Any feedback is welcome. I'll try to post my analysis later if I think it's needed, the community analysis of this structure can be a lot better than mine.

I like the posted rules. My 2cents to this thread is that I'd always open 2h/2s with QJTxxx in the suit. Even vul and even with 0-side values. That's why I play Ogust in all positions. The reason is simple: QJTxxx is the best you can have in a suit to preempt, you have 4 (almost) sure tricks in trumps, so if you go down 4 they have a grand. The key is that opponents can make a trick in the suit defending 2x that they wouldn't have made playing other contracts, the AK of trumps are offensive as well as defensive tricks. So I tend to preempt one level-up when I have QJTxxx If not vul I can open 3s on QJTxxx and zero. My last example was a 5s opening on QJTxxxxx, x, xxx, x (They settled for 5s doubled 800 with 3 vulnerable slas making: 6n, 6c, 6h) Just my 2 cents: If you have QJT(...)xxx then If you would have opened with KQJ(...)xxx or AQJ(...)xxx then open 1 level up. If you wouldn't have opened with KQJ(...)xxx or AQJ(...)xxx then open.

The anti-splinter appeared again!!! I want to propose a bid and I'm interested in your opinions: Fact: We are playing at expert level I agree 100% with inquiry, we may want to be in 3N, 4sx or can have a club slam (a club game is VERY likely). I'll focus on how to know if we have a slam. My bid is: 4d!! Because the key to slam is to find opener short in diammonds. The anti-splinter bid works as follows: initially should be taken as a splinter but if opener has a short diammond then should be interpreted as anti-splinter: no values in that suit and a hand interested in slam if we have no wasted values in diammonds. So pd with 2 diammonds knows we have two quick losers and with 1 diammond knows we can play slam..... He can also valorize a holding like a singleton Ace or Ax in diammonds if he has a good unbalanced hand. An example of the anti-splinter bid is: Axx, Jxxx, x, Kxxxxx pd - you 1d - 1h 1s - 1n 2c - 3h! Partner is short in hearts and you have no values there you have a club fit and a key honor in spades plus diammond shortness. Partner might have: KQxx, x, Axxx, AQxx and we have a slam :-) the 3h bids shows no wasted values in hearts and a clear support for clubs. Maybe this is interesting enough to start a thread :-)

This is a very interesting and common auction that I have studied in detail. 1h p 2h 2s p p 3h 3s ? Even playing bergen 3h can be bid by experts. Let's disect the auction When opener passes 2s he manifest his intention of not playing 3h. So the 3h bid must show a hand with short spades and distributional values, not worth a game try but wanting to play 3h rather than defending 2s. Something like Kxx, x, QJxxx, xxxx. 3c and 3d can be used as game-tries in hands that improved after the 2s bid asking opener to bid game based on his holding in that suit. Example: Kxx, x, KQxxx, xxxx after opps showed spade values I might want to try for a game in opener has the dA, for example: Axx, Axxxx, Axx, xx (just a 5332 12 counter and we)

While it is true that you don't preempt over preempts we would have bid 4s over 3h on KQJTxxx, x, KQxx, x for example. So 4s IMHO is a hand without slam interest. 3s is constructive and non-forcing. So in my methods I must double. If they bid 5h I'm willing to risk 5s

I like the idea :-) but maybe because I'm crazy. One of my favourite tricks is to bid 7 when missing the trump Q and knowing I have a guess example: KJT9x and partner has Axxx, you bid 7 and if they lead trumps it's over, if not you finesse the leader for the trump Q :-)

I know is not the best treatment but my approach is simple: I play 4way transfers so I transfer to the minor, if partner denies interest in the minor we can signoff in game, if partner shows interest then cue-bidding starts and we might find a good slam. Maybe you can post an example hand to check how this method would have worked (or not)

I use the following simple rules: A pass is forcing if: a) In game forcing situations if we are not in game yet :) When we bid a vulnerable game and opps bid c) When a bid forced pd to bid at the 4-level example: 1s - p - 4c(spl) - (4d) now pass is forcing because 4c forced a 4-level bid

I prefer to play Rubensohl, responder 3x bids are transfers so the balanced hand doesn't have to "find" a bid, he can simply accept the transfer and then respoder can bid again describing his hand so the balanced hand can act with more information. Example AKxx, AQxx, KJx, xx - Qxxx, x, AQxxx , AQx 1NT (2h nat) 3c(*) 3d 3s And now you can cuebid 4h and will probably find a 6s slam in the good 4-4 suit. Playing leb after a positive 3d bid many will bid 3n because the balanced hand was forced to bid with very little information available.,

1) One interesting bid at MPs is the "fake control" when a major is supported and you have, for example AQx in diammonds and xx in clubs you can cue-bid clubs making the opps "clear" that you lack the diammond control, you will get a diammond lead and have many chances of extra tricks. 2) More a funny story than a psyche In a national tournament I recently held: Ax, -, AJTxxxxx, xxx In 1st position all vul I opened 1h :-) Bidding followed E S W N 1h! P 2c P 2d(1) P 2s(2) P 3c P 3h(3) P 3N(4) P 4c P 4d P 4N P 5h(5) P P Dbl!! 6c!(6) P P dbl(7) rdbl P P (1) Completing the biggest canape ever seen (2) Fourth suit forcing (3) Oh, no problems (4) Will I escape? (5) If two aces are missing and he passes I'm dead (6) Thanks a lot mr opp (we were playing 5h vul on Qxx and a void) (7) (With AK of hearts and the cA) Result: 6cxx making pd's hand: KJx, Qxx, Kx, KQJTx (heart lead ruffed, west asks if I opened 1h, I say I can't remeber, club to the K and Ace, east asks if I had opened 1h I say I can't remember but not likely on a void, heart ruffed in dummy and now pd returned to hand playing.... playing.... a diammond!!!! which held.)

I'll focus on 2) since I play and have played moscito a lot. Some concepts: a) Opening light does pay because you get in the bidding more often and most partnerships have problems in competitive bidding that they don't have in unopossed actions. B) After a 1c 15+ opening and a negative response, moscito uses a 1h 19+ relay to give the partnership a new chance of a relayed auction. Pd will bid 1s as the 2nd negative or relay responses 2 levels up. c) When you are not vul a ligh opening can be used to preempt quickly by your pd. d) When you are vul light openings can be used to find games you wouldn't have played (probably) otherwise. Statistically this is good, imagine 4 hands were natural methods lead to a spade partial while a light opening leads to a vulnerable game. If you go down in 2 and win 2 you will gain imps. Even winning one and goind down 1 3 can be good if 3s also goes down :-) In a big advocate of light openings.